Creative Commons Aotearoa NZ is now Tohatoha

New name aims to enhance the local identity of non-profit organisation that supports Kiwis to “create, share and innovate”

Creative Commons Aotearoa New Zealand (CCANZ) has a new name – Tohatoha – the Māori word for ‘share’.

Operating as a not-for-profit organisation, Tohatoha advocates for open access and open licensing across a range of sectors in New Zealand – including education, government, science, arts and entertainment. It is part of the global Creative Commons Global Network, which helps people share their copyright works for reuse by others through the Creative Commons licenses. These licenses allow individuals, institutions, and public agencies to choose the kinds of permissions they grant over their work.

“Tohatoha means sharing – and that’s what we are about; sharing information so that every New Zealander has access to knowledge and stories, whether they get that access through the Internet, in their local library, or by listening to the elders of their communities,” says Mandy Henk, Tohatoha’s Chief Executive.

“We want a world where New Zealand leads by ensuring universal access to research, education and culture and builds a fair and equitable information system that supports Kiwis to create, share, and innovate. ‘Tohatoha’, as a name, communicates both the primacy of sharing and embraces our uniquely Kiwi identity,” she says.

Henk says Tohatoha has already begun development of a set of resources for New Zealand school classrooms about how students and teachers can use Creative Commons licenses, as well as a series of ‘how to’ workshops for government agencies.

“Our ongoing work as Tohatoha will be broader than simply supporting the globally recognised Creative Commons licenses. We will still do that work when and as needed, but as the range of threats to information sharing in the digital and analogue worlds grows, so we also need to grow and evolve. That’s what this rebranding is about – adapting to a changing environment so that we can realise our vision.

“This is also about sharing power. As an organisation we have our roots in the open movement – open source, open access, open data – and we fiercely support openness. But there is still so much work to be done to bring marginalised voices to the centre and make space for new voices across the spectrum of New Zealand society.”

About Tohatoha
Tohatoha is a non-profit organisation that helps people share their copyright works for reuse by others.
Sometimes creators and other copyright holders want the public to be able to reuse their works but are
unable to allow reuse easily and legally given the works’ “All Rights Reserved” copyright status. Creative Commons licences enable copyright holders to allow reuse of their works by giving everyone a range of permissions in advance. Using a clear and robust Creative Commons licenses, you can choose the kinds of permissions to grant over your work. Individuals, institutions, artists, scientists and public agencies around the world are now declaring “Some Rights Reserved” with Creative Commons licences. People who use Creative Commons licenses are contributing to the Commons, that global pool of reusable works, and are helping to create a culture of sharing, reuse and innovation.